Am I wrong? Was Chernobyl an illusion?
so that Russian troops can calmly go about
shelling Europe's largest nuclear reactor?
Has Putin lost his mind?
"all going forward
just as planned"
is he possessed that he would risk so much
and to what end?
does he think Ukrainians will settle
down and peacefully submit
to Moscow's dictates?
all these questions and no ready answers
how much more suffering before we exorcise
the ghost of empire
learn to swallow national pride
to mistrust the charismatic strongman
and send off to history's dustheap
the machinery of war